My Darling Family
by aBeautifulWorld
Summary: "Golly, sometimes it's just so hard to do things when you don't have fingers, you know?" An insight on the events leading up to and presented in the game. A conversation between Garry and the blue dolls, a little girl exploring her father's territory and a painter who fancies himself a creator. Mostly canon, mostly.
1. My Darling Dolly

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ib or any of the elements in the game. They belong to their respective owner, Kouri; I am merely using them for my own creative amusement.

**AN:** Hi C: So this was another prompt submitted on tumblr and I wanted to try this out before working on my other bigger projects, a warm up in a way. It is rated T for implied stuff but rather tame overall. Happy reading x

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**My Darling Dolly**

They went on and on. Garry hadn't felt such an overwhelming sense of peace in a long time. He glanced shyly at the blue felt, at their red beady eyes and fluffy braided hair. They were really kind to stay with him until Mother finally remembered to come to pick him up. He couldn't remember the last time a friend did that for him.

He couldn't remember the last time he had a friend.

"Honestly though— dogs playing poker! It's so silly!"

He burst into giggles as the little doll continued their story. "That... so...?" he barely choked out. Garry took in another deep breath, trying to control his ragged breathing. His sides were starting to hurt.

When was the last time he laughed without restraint like this?

When was... what time is it?

"Golly, sometimes it's just so hard to do things when you don't have fingers, you know?"

"Ahahaha... oh, sure. Sometimes... yeah, yeah..."

He knew. Of course he knew. He had tried cooking meals for Mother with bandages wound around his hands, sewing and mending his own worn out uniforms. Life was a little hard when he was both parent and child; it was even harder when he was hurt.

His hands were very important to him.

"I like your hair, friend." The doll with the pink dress ruffled their braids with stumpy paws and tilted their head at him, wide grin ever present. Their voice was so soft and warm, just like them, and so different compared to Mother's harsh gravelly monotone on most days. "It's purple and pretty. The tops are even a different colour!"

Mother didn't agree, of course. In an act of rare disobedience, he didn't mind her disapproval. He just wanted to bring colour back to his world. He was only a child.

The grown man nodded, twirling the soft locks proudly. "Don't see that every day, right? I just ran out, you see..."

The wide grin tore the stitches of their mouths, mimicking laughter, revealing a bloody, gooey mess of paint and felt. He jumped at the sudden cacophony of high pitched giggling, his ears ringing from the sound. "So it was a mistake? And yet you like it? Hey, hey friend, does dying take a long time?"

"Oh I really love it," He rubbed his sore ears, feeling a headache coming on. "But it does take a while for sure."

"I love playing with hair."

He beamed at his little friend. "Oh, you do too? Why, we certainly do get along, don't we?"

Somewhere at the back of his mind, Garry heard the door creak open.

The doll bobbed its head up and down and Garry let out another chuckle, happy to find a person who didn't look at him funny or sneer in disgust. He reached out and gently patted the tiny creature's head, amazed at how coarse it was. Their bright red eyes peeked at him under the jagged fringe and the two blue paws tapped affectionately on his wrist.

He took his hand away and sighed, suddenly drained and exhausted. When was Mother coming? The doll tilted their head in concern and waved at him, their silvery voice laced with concern. "What's the matter?"

He blinked, shaking his head. "It's nothing, I'm just tired. You're really quite entertaining you know that? I feel like I could talk to you about my every worry."

The weight of a hand and a nudge to his shoulder didn't register.

His heart hurt.

"You sure can! We'll always be buddies, right? Right, right?"

He burst out into another round of guffawing, pounding his fist against the sharp pain in his chest. The little doll waved its arms around frantically, catching his attention. "Say, friend. Have you ever tried Galette des Rois? Or played the game?"

Garry took in yet another deep breath before finally settling down, wiping away tears. "What game would that be?"

"The happiness game!"

"Huh! Never heard that before... can you give me the details?"

"A Galette des Rois is a cake that has a coin in it! And if you eat the slice with the coin in it, you'll be a happy person! I've played it loads before but... well... it's kind of embarrassing. Will you promise not to tell?"

He gave them an exaggerated wink. "No, no, I won't tell anyone! Your secret's safe with me!"

"Really? Well... I've never gotten the coin even once!" He nodded his head in sympathy. The little doll seemed to look around the room before gesturing him closer to her. The coast was clear, apparently. "Want to know something weird though?"

His eyes widened in excitement. He fervently nodded.

"There was one time where one of my friends got the slice with the coin in it... and my other friend _cut her stomach open_ with a _palette knife_."

Garry gasped dramatically. "What? I don't believe it!" The little doll sadly nodded her head as he continued nervously shaking his head, eyes unfocussed. He finally turned back to the doll. "Really? Are you for real?"

"Yeah, how mean, right? Just coz she got jealous! And then that friend decided to poke around in her stomach too, taking back the coin..." They shook their head sadly. "Although, now I kind of remember it was a funny looking sort of— Hey, are you okay? Why do you look so white?"

Garry was desperately trying to not be sick, teeth clenched from the effort. "...Because that's disgusting! Who'd do that to a girl? If I saw that happening, I'd tell them off for sure!"

Tell them off... for cutting a person's stomach open...

An image of a collapsed woman filled his mind and he almost gagged again from the lingering scent of metallic red paint. He looked up to the little doll rolling and squealing with delight, excitedly clapping their paws together. The pain in his chest bloomed again and the young man wobbled a little. He supported himself with one hand behind him and placed the other over his heart.

"You're so nice, friend." The doll finally sat up in their place again, their head bowed down. "The poor girl walks around with an open stomach now, so it's really yuck, but no one can really help her 'coz she don't want anyone to find her. I ain't seen her around in a while, which is really sad. I always feel troubled when I think about her. Maybe it was _my_ fault. I could have helped or something."

"Troubled? I know the feeling, you just feel helpless sometimes." He was helpless to help a woman who wouldn't put the kitchen knife down, helpless because he couldn't the perfect son that she always wanted, helpless because it was too late to be sentimental over a woman who unintentionally destroyed his childhood... because she was already long gone. "You know you can't run away from the problem, but nothing goes well either... I wonder why?"

He sighed.

Being an adult was pretty hard.

"So I just don't think about her and that's pretty easy coz I rarely see her."

He blinked at the simplicity of the solution.

"Yeah, that works too. It's nice to not have to think... just forgetting the bad things." Hysterical laughter suddenly bubbled up inside him and Garry clutched his sides, tears blurring his vision and he could hear nothing but the sound of his hoarse voice. "Oh yes, I'm with you there!"

In the haze of his mind, the twittering conversation of two little girls did not reach him, for all he could see was the cute little doll in the pink dress. The two of them could just sit on the carpet and chat in this room. They were his darling dolly company, sharing both joys and fears in times of loneliness. No, he wouldn't ever be lonely again.

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**AN: **I'm not entirely pleased with this, although I'm not sure why. I wanted to try the "unreliable narrator" kind of thing but I am not sure if it really worked :/ OrmaybeIamjustgettingrustyhmmmmm. Anyways, I will leave this up here so please tell me what you think C: Take care x


	2. My Darling Mommy

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ib or any of the elements in the game. They belong to their respective owner, Kouri; I am merely using them for my own creative amusement.

**AN:** Hi C: There'll be another two coming in the next few days, so please enjoy these small side projects whilst waiting for me to tame the beast that is The Music Box (also coming... one of these days...) This takes place before My Darling Dolly. Happy reading x

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**My Darling Mommy**

Mary raced down the hallways, waving to each of her family members as she passed by their portraits. Banging open the doors connecting the purple hallways to the brown, the little girl halted in her path. Looking around the box-filled room, she grinned and carried on, holding back laughter as she sprinted up the steps to meet one of her dearest friends.

Her loud tuneless song echoed through the walls, breaths coming in at ragged intervals from all her physical exertions. The blue doll in her hand swung violently, but their smile was ever present. She stroked the frame of Fallen Star lovingly and waved excitedly as she saw the darling Clown painting.

"Harley!" She hollered, her energy reserves boundless, "Harley, guess what?"

The clown's blue lips curled upwards and their glossy eyes widened as large as saucers.

"Big sis—" she gasped, finally skidding to a stop at the stair landing, right in front of the white face. "—Read me a new book today! About a mommy and their little girl and—" She took in another deep breath, "You know what she told me?"

Black eyes narrowed just a fraction in curiosity. Mary scooted a little closer and glanced back behind her shoulders to make sure they were alone.

"There's an actual working clock in this world, _and _according to big sis, tomorrow's her birthday! Can you believe that, it's the day she came to life! It's gonna be so great!"

Their mouth widened in a frighteningly large smile.

"So I was thinking, just like how the little girl in the story gives her mom a birthday present, what if _I _do the same thing for big sis? I mean," Mary tucked a curly blonde strand back behind her ear. "We're family. And families do these sorts of things, right?"

She took a step back and twirled, the rush of excitement making her giddy and light-headed. She pressed her back against the brown wallpaper and giggled, struggling to find her balance.

"She would be so pleased, just like in the book, and maybe I'll get another kiss on the cheek again. And maybe, just maybe..." Her knees buckled under her and she slid down, "Maybe she'll tell me more about that door... the one that's always locked."

The blue doll beside her, dressed in bright pink, nudged her thigh. Mary suddenly shivered and a burning fire renewed itself in her eyes. She jumped up and rushed downstairs again, taking two steps at a time. "See you later, Harley! I'll go find stuff to make big sis' present from!"

The storeroom she had passed by was as unbearably and weirdly hot and sticky as ever. It was a strange change from the rest of the cool, dark world she was accustomed to. The little girl riffled through the open boxes before noticing and grinning at the statues against the walls.

"Do you wanna help?"

As always, their long hands gave her a dismissive wave.

Mary harrumphed at their typical response and turned back to the doll in her hand. The tiny creature turned to her too and their stitched mouth almost tore at the bright large smile, their head cocked to the side. "Don't worry Kelly! We'll find some stuff... like..."

She turned her attention to the box nearest to the door. "There's lots of red paint. Red is big sis' favourite colour, and I know Harley likes them too. See? There's a big can and a little can, we can give some to her too."

Kelly the doll started shaking its head at first, before nodding vigorously.

"The little girl in the story made her mommy a card and a... was it a flower? It was! A... rose... just like this pretty one see?" Mary took out her delicate yellow rose briefly before pocketing it again. "Maybe I'll sew a red flower for her. That way it won't ever get dirty or broken."

Taking out the paint, Mary found some drawing paper just behind her, although they didn't seem very useful considering how wet they were.

"Should I use this paper for the card? Wait. What _should_ I draw on her card?" She stared at her doll for a moment before more ideas surged in. "Cake! And the all the other big sis! Flowers, books and lots of colours, of course! Everything she likes, especially..."

The little girl straightened up before marching to the only chair and canvas sheet in the room. She grabbed the pencil off the easel and pondered a little before trying to transfer the pictures in her mind onto the board. The end result seemed too hopeless and she sighed at the pitiful scribbling, annoyed that it wasn't as pretty as she wanted. "Something like this? No! I want it to be perfect..."

The doll whispered in her ear. She snapped, her cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"Shut up!"

She sniffed loudly and took the red paints, ignoring the blue doll with its head downcast and paws folded into its bright pink dress. "Come on, Mommy has a lot of work to do before she celebrates her big sis' birthday tomorrow, so you have to behave now, okay? Let's just go back to the sketchbook."

They hurried together, Mary throwing the small can of paint towards the Harlequin. The mouth stretched open as large at the portrait, engulfing the small can whole. Its features returned. The crunch of metal could be heard even after the little girl moved to the next hallway. She stopped and gasped at the lone box in the room.

"Oh, Kelly look! It's another one!"

Mary sprinted towards it, careful not to miss the only stepping stone for the dark chasm, only to stop as it suddenly lurched against the wall. Bashful Glance below her shyly blinked upwards, as she looked down and nodded at the green painting. "Do _you_ know what's inside the box?"

It simply averted and closed its eyes, hovering back to its original place after the little girl made it through safely. Mary placed Kelly gingerly down and took another step forward, eager to explore and yet... somehow scared to find out.

Watching the box for any more sudden movements, the little girl very gently pried the lid open with trembling hands. She gasped as the content of the box revealed another little blue doll, shivering with their stomach slashed open. A mess of blue felt, clumpy stuffing and gooey red paint lined the bottom of the cardboard. Mary almost gagged at the stench, tears filling her eyes.

"Oh... Carrie..." she cried, "Carrie? Is that you?"

The doll inside indignantly held a paw up against the sudden shadow. It hissed in recognition and scampered back, pressing itself against the corner of the fragile shelter. Kelly the doll jumped up from the floor to peer into the box, tilting its head towards their kin, their beady eyes rapidly blinking.

"Carrie...?" Mary tentatively reached out for her child, only to be snarled at, "Oh Carrie, does it hurt? I didn't mean for things to be like this! Why did it come true? It was only a story, I was only playing around!"

She hesitantly tried to get closer.

"Please, please come to mommy."

Carrie lunged at Mary's hand. She screamed as the needle like teeth of the doll slashed her skin open, the doll hanging onto her flesh. After several desperate attempts to shake the little one off, Mary grabbed it by the head and threw it back into the box. Kelly jumped on top of the lid and snapped it shut. She bounced a little as her old friend tried to push upwards, but soon gave up with Mary's injured hand adding weight.

Trying to control her heavy breathing, she watched the blue black ink spiral down her skin like a silky ribbon and spill against the cardboard. The wretched creature had sliced open her veins, but she did nothing to staunch the flow of her life-water, having never seen it before. No one had ever tried to hurt her before.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the gaping cuts pinched itself close until barely a hint of the previous injury remained. Even that soon went. Nothing tarnished her smooth porcelain skin. Mary's bottom lip quivered as she looked down at the box, a mixture of worry and anger drawn on her face.

"I was just trying to help!" she screamed, stumbling as she tried to get up. The little girl paused and stared at the doll right in front of her, listening to her silvery voice, noticing the way she gestured for them to move on, back to their home, back to the sketchbook.

"What do you mean... leave her...? No! No one wants to be alone Kelly, _no one_!"

"I just..." her voice broke and she gave up, bending down to gather the art materials that she had collected from the previous storeroom. She paid no more attention to the moving box, having no idea what to do, so she simply left the creature to drown in its own despair and misery, a feeling of betrayal welling up inside of her.

Mary stopped as it made a particularly loud thud against the wall, and she glanced back in sadness.

"I just wanted to help." She muttered softly.

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**AN: **Writing one sided dialogue is suffering orz I hope you liked it, so please tell me what you think C: Take care! x


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